Republican Platform Support for MID a Win for Home Owners

Republicans writing their party platform for their upcoming 2012 convention in Tampa next week inserted language specifying their support for the mortgage interest deduction. As described in a piece in the Wall Street Journal today, the language says that, “if the GOP failed on tax reform it would favor the retention of the mortgage-interest break.”

This is a clear victory for home buyers, home owners, and the economy, because it specifies that Republican lawmakers favor the retention of MID.

Based on the WSJ report, the first part of the provision suggests Republicans will pursue some type of tax reform. Whether that would include changes to MID can’t be known, but the fact that they specifically expressed support for MID is certainly an endorsement of this 100-year-old tax benefit.

The Wall Street Journal sees the language as something less than a win for home owners, because sponsors of the endorsement originally wanted it separate from any talk of tax reform. Given the climate today, in which lawmakers will be facing the enormous job of trying to put the federal budget on a path to balance, the fact that an explicit endorsement of MID was included in the platform is a victory, pure and simple.

The Journal goes on to point to the federal government’s historic support of home ownership as an underlying factor in the housing bust several years back. That’s an argument it’s made before. But the assertion has never made much sense, since MID has been around for 100 years—that’s 17 presidential administrations—and throughout that time the housing market on a national basis has been an indisputable source of stability in the economy.

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I think you are a little overly generous with your report. They basically failed to unequivocally say that the deduction is off the table. So for you to say that they supported the deduction is a bit generous. They voted monday to basically say it’s not off the table, and then on tuesday walked it back but again failed to unequivocally say that the deduction is off the table. You are trying to put lipstick on a pig but it’s still a pig.

Ray Underhill

They are just trying to get votes.. Lets just support big corporations and tax breaks for the wealthy in Washington. Dont forget the banks too. That will help the MIDDLE CLASS who purchase homes. Who are the ones who keep the dollars moving? Please keep that in mind.

Mike Brennan

Why can’t you be a little less ambiuous? The GOP wants to eliminate the MID and they and you seem to trying to disguise it. Stand up for your platform and beliefs and if your position is not supported by the majority, you lose. It’s the American Way.

Barb Davis-Hassan

Romney sort of has a tax plan but he can’t tell us right now what it is because it’s not fully formulated. This is a statement made just this past weekend. The election is in 43 Days. HELLO! He openly stated while campaigning that his tax policy would be to lower the overall tax rate and in return he would eliminate the MID on second homes. The exact wording on the GOP platform is “if the GOP failed on tax reform it would favor the retention of the Mortgage Interest break”. This is no way is supporting the MID. Please stop insulting the Realtors out there that know Mitt Romney and his wishy wasy ways. Please stop pretending he’s on the side of the real estate industry…..because he is not!

Bob Vasquez

Who buys homes from 97% of our real estate agents? Billionaires or the middle class? Unfortunately, NAR appears to be moving strongly into a radical right-wing agenda and is NOT putting real estate agents first. NAR attended the Republican Convention and reported on that experience; I have yet to read about NAR’s experience and the Democratic Convention. What is NAR promoting? What I am reading sounds more and more like the FOX Channel; and since when is the FOX Channel looking out for real estate agents? Other comments in this thread have pointed out some no so pro real estate agents activity by NAR. Does the “R” in NAR stand for Republican?

Fay Shaffer

Why do these people that did not interview the Cadidate put words in his mouth? Could it be that they already have their mind made up and want to impose their own idea that any thing said by Mit Romney is exactly the opposite to their beliefs? Is it because they suffer from severe Partisianship? Or are they paid to malign the GOP? You will notice there is little said about the New Health takeover bill, that will impose a tax just for selling a house, that is more than their brokerage fee, and the GOP will perhaps dissolve that monstrosity, imposed by the present administration.

Evidently the Realtors that wrote the above remarks are happy with the way the real estate business has been the last 4 years. For my husband and I who are both brokers business has been down the last 4 years and foreclosures have been up . We are definitely looking for some changes . We need a president who does not force socialism on us. We are close to losing our freedom. Without our freedom we have nothing. We are definitely voting against Obama and are voting for Romney.

Lowell Brillante

Our country is going down the entitlement road to government run socialism/Marxism. Wake up people! Look around, read, research, millions more on food stamps, welfare and government handouts. Unions trying to take control. More people dependent on the government, either by aid or employment. This government has got to be reduced! National debt, all time deficit spending and some are worried about MID? That’s the problem, everyone is worried about themselves and not seeing the big picture. It’s our country we need to worry about. If the current president has another four years in office, he can do anything other than he says he will and our country can be the loser. Think hard before you agree with the status quo.